The Crusader baseball team releasing balloons in honor of those who are fighting or have fought a battle with cancer.
Game One
Game Two
Game one of Saturday's double-header at Elmore Vail Field saw NNU put up 23 runs on 19 hits to defeat Academy of Art University 23-9. In game two, outstanding pitching by the Crusaders surrendered only 2 runs, giving NNU a four-game weekend sweep with a final of 14-2.
The Crusaders opened up St. Luke's Cancer Awareness day with a bang, scoring 10 runs in the bottom half of the first inning. NNU took advantage of six hits and two Urban Knight errors to open the game. Catcher Justin Henry had two RBI's in the frame, and Ty Windall plated three Crusaders with a double in his second at bat of the inning.
The Urban Knights were able to scrape across one run in the top of the second and two more in the top of the fourth. In the NNU half of the fourth, the Crusaders took advantage of walks and were able to put four runs on the board. Logan Parker plated two with a single to right field.
AAU scored in every inning but the seventh for the remainder of the game. In the ninth, they were able to add three runs to their score. NNU put up two in the fifth and one in the seventh before adding another four runs in their half of the eighth inning.
Zeb Sneed went five innings and surrendered four runs, three of them earned, in his second win of the season. Sneed improved his record to 2-3.
On the offensive side, Sean McDonald went 2-for-4 and scored five times in the game. Windall went 3-for-6, scored five times, and had three RBI's. Additionally, Derek Bettinson was 4-for-5 with two RBI's. Parker ended the game amassing a total of five RBI's and going 2-for-4 at the plate.
In game two, the Crusaders not only kept the sticks rolling, but they all but shut down the offense of AAU, surrendering only two runs in the final frame.
After one run in the first, a six run third inning put the Crusaders ahead by a comfortable margin. After a lead-off out in the third, Windall reached base on a single. He then proceeded to steal second base and third base, two of his three stolen bags of the game. Later in the inning, Cameron Louie singled driving in Zack Morse who had reached on a walk. The next batter, McDonald, drove a single up the middle scoring two more Crusaders.
In the fourth, NNU was able to steal two runs, both with two outs. Parker reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. Following two wild pitches, he scored. Morse walked and advanced to second on the third wild pitch of the inning, where he was driven in by a Ryan Udy single.
In NNU's final offense half, they tallied three hits and scored four runs. Spenser Lind doubled in the inning, and Louie had another line drive single for an RBI.
McDonald started on the hill for the Crusaders, going five innings and giving up only three hits, while surrendering zero runs. Jake Hiler threw the sixth inning and gave up only a hit. Ryan Brown pitched the final frame and gave up two runs, one earned.
Bettinson and Parker both continued rolling into the second game, each going 2-for-3 at the plate. Ryan Van Beek was 2-for-5 and had three RBI's.
On the weekend, Windall stole four bases, increasing his season total to 23. Before the weekend, he was tied for 8th in the nation in stolen bases.
The Crusaders will return to action this weekend as they venture to Monmouth, OR to face off against Western Oregon University. First pitch is at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday.
